Shower stalls per se are known in the art. Some shower stalls are structured for bathtubs or shower basins using conventional sliding doors, wherein the supporting means for each door are retained within separate parallel guide channels allowing the doors to co-operate in use. However, sliding door assemblies are limited and not readily applicable to tight installations such as corner stalls or tubs in that they generally require a minimum opening when the doors are overlapped, this opening of sufficient size to allow access or egress of an individual. Pivoting shower doors overcome this restriction as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,698,677, 3,390,486 and 4,035,957. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,736 (Equivalent Canadian Patent No. 1,147,600) as well as U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,486 disclose pivot members which are adjustable in position. Shower stalls of the type referenced are generally monolithic in nature providing a functional use but generally aside from the porcelain, chrome or etched glass contained thereon offer little in the way of design to enhance and not detract from or blend in with the general surroundings. German Patent Application No. 3,401,135 discloses a shower stall having a square basin upon which is assembled a closure member having two doors, but generally dealing with the novel hinging and sealing components of the doors. German patent specification No. 3,507,264 discloses a hinge arrangement upon which double doors (as illustrated in FIG. 2) may be hung. Further, German patent application No. 3,310,139 (now abandoned) discloses a shower partition for bath tubs or shower basins having double doors but not extending the full length of the stall to the sill of the shower basin. The aforementioned German references, however, do not allow for the variation in dimensions normally confronting an installer. Panels must be cut to size and more or less made to measure with no provision for adjustment during installation.
Notwithstanding, it is Applicant's intention to overcome the monolithic appearance of shower stalls disclosed in some of the prior art while allowing for flexibility, ease of installation and hence economy.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide functional yet attractive shower stalls having a multiplicity of embodiments.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a shower stall having at least one opening defined by a multiplicity of stiles closed by more than one closure member spanning across the said at least one opening.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a shower stall having at least one opening closed by more than one closure member having adjustable pivot members thereby providing for ease of installation and on site adjustment.
It is a further object of the invention to provide in kit form readily assembled by an installer a shower stall which is functional yet attractive having a multiplicity of embodiments when assembled and yet economical.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a shower stall which can be fit dimensionally on the job site allowing installers to minimize their inventories of pre-cut panels.
It is a further object of the invention to eliminate in a preferred embodiment all vertical joints on the jamb which support the stile panels.
It is a further object of the invention in a preferred embodiment to minimize the number of vertical and horizontal extrusions such as the header.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a U-shaped channelled jamb which allows for alignment of all panels if such as a supporting wall is not plumb.
Further and other objects of this invention will become apparent to a man skilled in the art when considering the following summary of invention and the more detailed embodiments of the invention illustrated herein.